Independent to sell Singer-produced thriller uwantme2killhim?

Independent has come on board for sales of UK thriller uwantme2killhim?.

Momentum Pictures and Alliance Films have acquired rights for the UK and Canada respectively.

Andrew Douglas (Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, The Amityville Horror) directs from the Mike Walden’s screenplay based on a Vanity Fair article about a true story. The film will shoot starting in July in the UK — mostly on location in Harlow, Essex and Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, plus a week at Elstree Studios.

Bryan Singer had optioned the article in 2005 to direct himself, but he will now serve as a producer.

Jack O’Connell (Skins) [pictured] and Olly Alexander (Gulliver’s Travels) will star, with supporting cast including Anna Maxwell Martin, Jaime Winstone and Ruth Wilson.

The story, based on 2003 events in the UK, is about a teenager who develops an intense relationship online with a girl named Rachel. When Rachel is murdered, he works with her loner brother to avenge her death. They run into further trouble with a secret government operation.

Douglas said: “This is a story about relationships as much as it is about technology. While the internet is a key factor in this story, it will become transparent, and the film will be a gritty, sexy, violent thriller seen through the eyes of those boys, Mark and John.”

Singer added: “When I first optioned Judy Bachrach’s Vanity Fair article back in 2005, I was fascinated by this almost unbelievable real-life story and excited by the opportunity to produce an intimate, timely thriller. As the Internet continues to permeate the everyday lives of teenagers, this movie explores what happens when the lines between fantasy and reality become dangerously blurred. I feel that Andrew Douglas’ take on this story makes a powerful commentary on the complexities of teen friendship and alienation in the digital age.”

The film is an Anonymous Content/Bad Hat Harry/Andrew Douglas Films co-production, produced by Singer, Anonymous’ Steve Golin, Peter Heslop and Simon Crocker.